VCU Broad Street Mile will be a fun run, a festival and a fundraiser

Event also will mark VCU’s 175th Anniversary

Virginia Commonwealth University is the signature sponsor of a city-wide event in September -- the VCU Broad Street Mile -- that will offer participants the opportunity to compete in fun runs, raise money for scholarships and enjoy a festival on Richmond’s main thoroughfare.

The inaugural event will celebrate VCU’s 175th Anniversary and take place on Broad Street between Belvidere Street and Hermitage Road on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The Broad Street Mile will be a fun atmosphere with music, food, art, dance, theater, sponsor exhibits and other activities,” said Pamela D. Lepley, VCU’s chief communications officer. “It also will help raise money for scholarships for VCU students and for various nonprofits in the region.”

The VCU Broad Street Mile combines a series of 1-mile fun runs. Broad Street will be transformed into two areas, a mile side and festival side. The mile side will feature fun-themed mile races throughout the event, while the festival side will feature exhibits from VCU academic programs, VCU student organizations, corporate sponsors and community organizations.

In addition, non-profit organizations can recruit runners and raise money through entry fees and additional online fundraising campaigns. For more information, visit www.vcubroadstreetmile.com.

About VCU and VCU Medical Center

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 223 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-eight of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University comprise VCU Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.